Feather Dreams
by MysticalTwilightQueen59
Summary: Athena Uley, her daughter, her stepmother and little half-sister are on the run from an abusive ex, but what happens when they decided to go to La Push in hopes of safety? Will that be what they're looking for? Will they be safe there? And how will Athena cope with meeting her older half-brother and her father's family? Read to find out. (Transferred from another account
1. Chapter 1

"Athena, could you get your sister and go to the grocery store for me?" She asked. "I'll keep an eye on the baby for you."

I nodded. "Yeah, sure." I told her. "What do we need?"

"I have you a list right here." She said. "Just mostly things we need for the cookout tomorrow."

I nodded and got up and grabbed my pocketbook before getting the keys to the golf cart. "Elodie, come on."

My little sister nodded and bounded after me. "Okay!" We walked down the steps from the living room on the second floor to the bedrooms and the front door on the first floor. I opened the door of the garage and we walked down the steps and over to the lime green golf cart.

She hopped in on the passenger's side and I got behind the wheel and carefully backed out of the garage. At the end of the drive, I set up the portable speaker, hooking it to my phone and letting the music play. I followed another golf cart out of the neighborhood and started the 3-mile trip to Piggly Wiggly.

Once there, I parked where some other golf carts were parked and reviewed the list:

· Hamburgers & Hotdogs

· Hamburger and Hotdog Buns

· Pickles & Relish

· Rice Krispies

· Marshmallows

· Cream Cheese x2

· Oreo Crumbs

· Potato Salad

· Corn on Cob

· Bananas

· Fudge

· Blueberries, Raspberries & Strawberries

· Eggs

· Onion

· Drinks

· Baked Beans

· Coleslaw

· Pasta Salad

· Chips

· Macaroni & Cheese

· Drinks

· Vanilla Cake Mix

That should be simple enough. I stepped off the golf cart and pocketed the keys and walked into the store followed by my sister. Once in, I got the buggy and went down the produce section first, getting the blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and bananas. Since the section was also next to the deli, where we picked up the pasta salad, coleslaw and potato salad.

I held back an urge to cough as my sister and I browsed the other aisles for the rest of the items. This sinus infection was almost annoying me, but at least I wasn't contagious. Shaking my head, I grabbed the other items on the list, and then also went by the baby aisle to pick up a pack of diapers and a pack of wipes. Then we went by checkout and got the items paid for before loading it up on the golf cart in the storage area where it would be secured and I drove back to the neighborhood. Upon entering through the gates, I pulled off to the side where the cluster mailboxes were to check the mail.

Using my key, I got the mail out of the box, and found a key to open the parcel box, which is where they put the packages. I then opened that box, and retrieved the couple of boxes that were in there, and they were my ETSY orders. I placed the mail carefully under Elodie's feet and then drove back to the house, a good 3-minute golf cart drive from the mailbox.

I parked the golf cart back in the garage, and Elodie and I got all of the stuff back upstairs to the kitchen. After that, Elodie went to go out to play with one of her friends. I walked over to the play yard to check on Scarlett, whom was waking up. "Hi baby." I cooed softly at her as she grinned and lifted her out gently.

I walked around with her, and noticed the UPS coming down the road, and remembered my Bath and Body Works package and Davina's Scentsy pack was coming in today. "I'll get it." Davina said, before walking downstairs to greet the driver.

I prepared a bottle for Scarlett and it wasn't long before I heard my little sisters voice. "Thank you, mommy!" She squealed as the front door shut and I heard her feet downstairs as she headed presumably to her bedroom.

I gave a questioningly look to Davina when she walked back upstairs to the kitchen. "I gave her permission to stay over at Lacey's for a sleepover."

"Ah." I nodded as I fed Scarlett.

"So, I guess with her gone tonight, we can go out to eat at Tale of the Whale and then to Olde Towne Creamery later if you'd like. And not to mention, we do have to get your medicine."

I nodded. "Yeah, sounds good to me." I told her.

Elodie came up the steps around five minutes later. "Bye!" She told us, before bouncing back down the steps again with her overnight bag.

Davina chuckled and shook her head. "Okay, I guess go get ready and we'll leave in 30."

I nodded and carried Scarlett downstairs to my room and laid her down in her crib. We have a 4-bed house, but since the 4th bedroom was a guest room, Scarlett bunked with me, we just added a crib and changing table to my room. I scratched my cat, Ursula's, head as she gave a light meow as she swished her tail, laying on my bed.

My Siberian Husky, Kanook gave a wag of his tail from where he laid in his bed at the foot of mine. I patted his head and laid Scarlett down in her crib while I went ahead and got my shower. I got out and dried off before getting dressed, changing into a pair of black leggings and a gray monogrammed racer back tank top and some sandals. I brushed my hair and then went to get Scarlett ready.

Before we left the house, I put Kanook up in his kennel. Then I picked up the car seat (after buckling Scarlett in) and walked down to Davina's truck and got Scarlett settled in and the she first drove to the Tales of the Whale.

For the appetizer, we ordered coconut shrimp, which just so happens to be my favorite seafood. Davina was across the table from me in the other booth, and Scarlett was still sleeping in her carseat beside me, next to the window, overlooking the Roanoke Sound.

I ordered the house salad and she-crab soup for supper while as Davina chose blackened fish and grits. We left the restaurant about 6:30 and then headed over to Olde Towne creamery for ice cream. I had been wanting my old time favorite, caramel cheesecake in a waffle cone. After finishing our cones and ordering dessert, we headed to the CVS which was on the way home. We went in and got my antibiotics for my sinus infection and some other medicine, and then we finally headed home.


	2. Chapter 2

Elodie got back home around 9:30 that next morning. It was finally the day of the cookout, and we had quite a few people coming over. Some of Davina's friends and co-workers and some of them had children themselves. I dressed Scarlett in a white short sleeved onesie that had her name on it and read "My First 4th of July." It had a matching bloomer/diaper cover shorts with red and white chevron and blue and white starts layered pattern on them. I also placed a matching headband in her hair.

As for me, I wore a black pair of Lularoe leggings with red, white and blue firecrackers on them and a white racerbank tank top with my initials in red glitter with a blue star glitter bow on top. I put my sandals on and went upstairs to the living room and placed Scarlett in her play pen and went to help Davina with cooking in the kitchen.

When people started arriving, Lola, Davina's and Elodie's Maine Coon cat, ran off and hid in Davina's bedroom.

I made some of the deserts, such as the red, white and blue rice krispie bars, the red, white and blue swirled cheesecake bars, the dipped frozen bananas and the cheesecake fruit salad. I also made the kid-friendly punch. And Davina grilled the burgers and hot dogs.

After I fixed my items, I changed into my monogrammed bikini, black top and pink bottoms and I even changed Scarlett into her very own monogrammed one piece and got her into the pool for a bit, and she never cried, she actually liked the water.

The fireworks started at 8 and ended at 9:30, which is when we decided to go to bed.

* * *

Friday, July the 6th, started out as any other morning, Davina had to be at work at the The Outer Banks Hospital in Nags Head where she worked as an RN, so I fixed waffles for Elodie and me for breakfast. About 15 minutes, my cellphone rang.

"Hello?"

"Athena, I need you to listen to me carefully."

I stepped out of ear sight of Elodie.

"Davina? What's going on?" Her tone of voice was actually starting to scare me.

"Don't worry Athena, I won't let nothing happen to you. But Devon's been stalking me, I tried to keep it from you girls and I've been to the police, but there's nothing that they can do without evidence, so since he's off the island for the weekend on business, we need to leave, pack what we can and get off the island. I'll be home early, just start packing."

And with that, she hung up. I cleared the kitchen of the breakfast dishes and thought about what I was going to tell my sister, but eventually, I just told her to pack all her favorite things as we were going on a little trip.

Davina returned a couple hours later with a U-hual. She backed it into the garage and looked at me before getting the two packages that had been delivered a few days ago from Bath and Body Works and Scentsy and loaded those up. "Everything you wanted packed?" I nodded. "Yes."

The only thing that I had packed was my clothes and other items that I knew could not be replaced. And a lot of my items, such as my collectibles were in storage containers in the garage, which Davina had already loaded up. As well as my materials for my own ETSY shop. And of Scarletts, I only packed clothes that she could still wear or grow into. I didn't pack any clothes that she couldn't wear anymore unless it had her name on it. In that case, I did pack those. I also left all of her gear except for the pack and play, which went in the trailer, and the stroller, which went in the back of Davina's truck with our overnight bags of clothes and toiletries for easy access. And the baby carrier that I used to baby wear, and that went into the back seat.

Everything else that wasn't sentimental, we were leaving behind. We quickly caught both cats and put them in their respect carriers, and I grabbed Kanook and let him hop in the truck, where he would sit in between Davina and me, and once Scarlett was settled in and Elodie strapped in her booster seat, we put the two cat kennels in between their seats.

Once we were sure everyone had everything (and a cooler of a few snacks), we got in the truck and left. Elodie was oblivious to what was going on, having some of her favorite books and toys within reach of her, and she was looking out the window.

My stepmother's boyfriend had been extremely abusive towards her and we were kind of on the run from him. Where's my dad? You might ask? Oh, yeah, he kind of walked out on us a couple years after my half-sister's birth, kind of similar to what had happened when I was born, when he left my mom.

My dad left my mom the minute that he found out that she was pregnant with me, for the first few years of my life, I didn't know anything about him other than the fact that he was Native American like my mother, well, my mother had been half herself, her father being native and her mother not. I also had my father's last name, she was sure to include him on the birth certificate so she could child support, which she won, and my father was still paying child support to this day, for both me and my sister. My mom died of cancer when I was 9 years old, it was then that they tracked down my father and he and my stepmother got custody. I lived with them for 2 years before my little sister was born. During those years when it was just the three of us, my father barely had any part in raising me, my stepmother was the one who took care of me. He liked to drink, but he wasn't a mean drunk and was never abusive, he was just a deadbeat.

He did teach me though, about my heritage, my Quileute heritage and all of the legends and stuff. There was no need for me to write them down, I still remembered all of them. Then my little sister was born when I was 11 years old, a couple years later, he left, never looking back, even signed away his parental rights of both me and Elodie. My stepmother was so pissed off by what my father had did, she changed back to her maiden name. She had never given Elodie my father's surname. She was an only child, born to a Native American mother and a Scottish father, and they had no sons, so she gave Elodie her surname to keep the family name going. I had met Davina's parents, she looked just like her father, with that same red hair and blue eyes, and Elodie looked just like her with that same red hair, though her skin looks more tanner, but she shared our father's brown eyes with me.

She was awarded custody of me too, as the only directly living relative on my mother's side was my grandfather and he was getting too old to care for a child, but she made sure to send me to visit over the holidays and when we had lived closer to Cherokee, I even stayed with him on the weekends. Last year, my stepmother met a new guy, and when they first started dating, he was kind, but as time went on, he showed his true colors and though Davina tried to hide them, I knew she had bruises. I tried to tell her to end it when she could, but she kept believing he would change, but she eventually woke up and realized that he wouldn't, so she broke up with him, and then in turn, he started stalking her.

We traveled for a few hours, and we stopped for supper only after we got out of the state, and now it was getting dark, I knew Scarlett had fallen asleep already, and I looked back to see that Elodie was alseep. Even Kanook was getting tired, as he laid down and rested his head in my lap.

"Athena, I think I know were we need to go." Davina said, flickering her eyes over at me. "We need to go to La Push."


	3. Chapter 3

"Athena, I think I know where we need to go." Davina said, flickering her eyes over at me. "We need to go to La Push."

I raised my eyebrows as I looked at her. "Are you sure about this?"

Davina nodded. "Yes, I am. It's your father's tribe." She said, looking in the review mirror, back at Elodie sleeping in the dark. We would have to get a room soon, or whenever Davina felt too tired to drive. "You two will be safe there, the tribe will protect you because of who you are." She told me. "And Scarlett will be safe too because she's your daughter."

"Okay, if you think this'll work, then I'm game."

Davina nodded. "I think it will be good for the two of you." She said. "We'll stop at a hotel for a couple days so I can get a dentist appointment and then we'll head onto Washington."

We were currently in Indiana, after a couple more hours on the road, we stopped at a hotel where Davina got us a room for three nights, this night included. Once we got to the room, Davina put Elodie in one of the beds and she went and got her shower while I got ready for bed after getting Scarlett ready for bed and placed her in her pack n' play for the night and laid in the other bed, with Kanook. He always took up half the bed, but I didn't have anywhere to put his bed at the moment, so this would have to do. Lola lounged on Davina's bed, and Ursula cuddled up next to Kanook.

The next morning, I awoke to being lightly shook and checked the clock and found it to be 7:30, I had only had been asleep for about 5 hours. "I'm walking over to the dentist, and I'll probably be gone about all day." She said. "When you get up, could you get Elodie ready, take her down to breakfast and then toy store?"

Elodie had a gift card for the toy store that her grandparents had given her. I nodded. "Yeah, how much of it do you want her to use?"

"Just let her use all of it, if not, we won't hear the end of it." I nodded and put my head back on the pillow and heard her shut the hotel room door behind her. I fell back asleep and didn't get up again until about 9 AM, I looked over in the next bed to see that Elodie was still sleeping, as was the baby, so I took this opportunity to dig through one of my duffle bags and got out my shampoo and conditioner and went and got my shower.

Once I was clean, I pulled on some shorts, a tank top and some sandals and blow-dried my hair and brushed it out. Then I got Elodie up and told her to get her own shower. As she was getting a shower, I gently lifted Scarlett out of her pack n' play and laid her on my bed and changed her diaper and changed her into a white elephant onesie and a pink pair of pants with an elephant on the back and placed her in her car seat.

That had been the theme of my baby shower a few months ago, as I loved elephants, and decided to use that theme for the shower. Yes, I am 15 years old with a child. But was it my fault? No. Did I choose to go through with the pregnancy and keep her? Yes. She was the result from a sexual assault when I was 14 years old. But when I found out about being pregnant with her, I had decided to keep her, and she was the best thing to result from that experience.

I covered her up with a blanket that had her name on it and placed the matching elephant car seat canopy cover on the car seat and attached it to the stroller. After Elodie got out of the shower and got dressed, I put Kanook up in the kennel and grabbed the room key and diaper bag, and Elodie and I headed down to the hotel's breakfast room to eat.

After breakfast, we walked down to the toy store as it was down the street, and it took Elodie almost 3 hours to decide on everything that she wanted that she could afford with her gift card, and I had to do all the math, no surprise there. Elodie carried her bags out of the store as I pushed the stroller, and then I dragged her to the bookstore, so I could get a few more books that I needed.

After leaving the bookstore, we headed for a quick light lunch and ate and headed to the little grocery store to get sandwich stuff and diapers and went back to the room, but Davina was still away. I shut the door behind me and helped Elodie take her dolls out of the boxes and after I did that, I took Kanook out for a walk until it started raining. By then, Davina was walking back to the room.

"Feel better?" I asked, falling in step beside her.

She nodded. "Much, now that those three teeth are out, my mouth feels so much better." She said. "Did Elodie get all she wanted?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, she did. We went to the toy store, then by the bookstore and we had a light lunch before coming back. I picked up bread and sandwich meat for supper though." I told her.

Davina nodded. "That sounds good." She said. "I do want to hit the road tomorrow, try to reach Washington before the weekend." She said as I unlocked the door and stepped in. Elodie was quietly playing on the floor with her new toys and watching a movie on the DVD player, Frozen, for the umpteenth time. I silently groaned to myself.

Frozen wasn't that bad. It was a good movie, it really was, but my sister has watched it more times than I can count and not to mention, she sometimes refuses to stop singing those stupid songs. Shaking my head, I put Kanook back into his kennel before sitting on my bed and took out one of my books and started reading until it was time to go to bed.

We left after breakfast that next morning and loaded the car up before we hit the road once again. While I had mixed feelings about going to La Push and meeting my half-brother and my father's family, it would finally be nice to stop running, to actually settle down and have a normal life. And to raise my daughter in an actual home. We traveled for a couple more days, and then on day five, Davina drove on through the night, and I fell asleep and by the time I woke up again, Davina informed me that we had finally reached Washington. It wouldn't be too much longer now. Here goes nothing.


	4. Chapter 4

Since La Push didn't have any hotels, we had to get a hotel room in Forks, even though it was 20 miles outside of the reservation. It was late by the time we actually reached Forks, 6:30 p.m., so Davina got a hotel suite with a kitchenette and booked it for a couple nights, though she didn't know if we needed it for longer or not. She said she would call the tribal council tomorrow and see if she could get a meeting with them.

We somewhat unloaded the car, taking a couple bags and the pack n' play in and we ordered out for pizza for supper and we all took turns in the shower and headed to bed.

The next morning, Davina stepped out the room to make the call while I was making a oatmeal breakfast in the microwave for Elodie. Davina came back in around 15 minutes later. "They gave me an appointment for a meeting at 2 this afternoon." She informed us.

We made sandwiches for lunch and at 1:30, Davina left and I watched her from the window of the hotel suite as she left, before closing the blinds as the rain started pouring down, which I hear that it does a lot in this area. But I didn't mind, to me, there was a air of peacefulness about it. I settled Elodie down with a movie and I gave Scarlett a bath as best I could even though I didn't have a tub for her.

After that, I strapped on the baby carrier and put Scarlett in it and grabbed the leash to walk Kanook, so he didn't get agitated. I walked him around for about half an hour before we headed back to the suite. Davina didn't get back until after 5 o'clock, and brought back subs for us. "so, they do believe my story, but they want a DNA test just to back it up." She told us as she sat us down the table to eat.

"They do want to meet you." Davina told me and Elodie.

"When?" I asked her as I unwrapped my sub.

"Tomorrow morning." Davina responded. "They'll get yours and Elodie's DNA tested as a precaution, to confirm the story, and then we'll know more after that." She said as she began to eat her food.

I nodded. "Okay." I said, opening my bag of chips and ate one before starting on my sub. After I ate, I got a bottle ready for Scarlett and fed her before putting her down for the night and getting out one of my R.L Stine books to catch up on some of my reading. I read even after Davina and Elodie went to bed, since I was caught up in it, but did eventually put it down and went to bed.

The following morning, I awoke before everyone else and got my shower and put my makeup on before getting dressed. And after we had breakfast, we all got in the car (after I put Kanook in the kennel) and drove to La Push.

Once we reached the reservation, I began to look around out the window, as I was highly curious about this place. It was a rather small reservation, at least it was smaller than the one back in Cherokee, but it was nice. And really lush and green, which was the first thing that I had noticed. Davina drove to a small building and parked, so I assumed this is where we were supposed to be and I undid my seat belt. I got out of the car when she did, and so did Elodie. I shut my door and went and got the car seat out with Scarlett in it, and didn't bother with the stroller.

Carrying the car seat, I followed Davina into the building followed by Elodie. I was nervous by now, and was growing increasingly nervous the more we walked. When we walked into a room after Davina knock, I saw a few people, including one whom was in a wheelchair, and another younger guy that looked like my father, and I instantly knew that he had to be the brother that my father had mentioned once before.


	5. Chapter 5

**Nothing has changed about this chapter, other than that it's now chapter 5, since I went back and added another chapter to be chapter one and added some more to Chapter Two! Go and check it out!**

* * *

Being in the room with the elders of the tribe that my father had belonged to and my older half brother, was quite intimidating, I had to admit. But Davina stepped up.

"It's nice to see you again." She said. "These are the girls, Athena and Elodie."

The man that revealed himself as Billy Black offered a warm smile. I hadn't quite been expecting that. "I can seen the resemblance." He said. "Though I don't think that Athena quite needs a DNA test. She looks just like Joshua Uley."

"That, she does." Davina commented as they prepared for the DNA tests. They took a swab from me, and one from Elodie.

"It should take 24 hours for the tests to come back." Billy said. "I have no doubt in my mind that they'll come back a match, we just need to cover our bases, and when it does, we'll go from there."

Davina nodded. "I understand, thank you." She said. After a few more minutes, we left the meeting and then went and grabbed a quick lunch before heading back to the room and by that time, it was pouring down rain. Scarlett was asleep, so I decided to sit on the couch and read while my sister was watching cartoons.

The next day, shortly after lunchtime, I had given Scarlett a bath when I heard a knock on the door. I crossed the kitchenette to open the door and found Sam and Billy Black at the door. I was holding the baby in one arm, supporting her head, and with the other, I reached out and grabbed Kanook's collar, as the husky seemed bent on greeting them like he does with everyone, and by greeting everyone, I mean jumping on them.

"Kanook!" I scolded. "Sorry about that."

Billy chuckled. "It's no problem." He said. "Is Davina here?"

"Yeah." I nodded, stepping back to let them in. "Davina!" I called out to her as I placed Scarlett in the pack n' play.

"Yes Athena?" Davina walked into the room before she noticed Sam and Billy.

"Oh. Billy. Sam." She greeted. "May we help you?"

"The DNA tests came back." Billy said. "It confirmed everything we already knew, and since we now know for sure, we can move on and get everything taken care of."

Davina gave a nod. "Thank you." She said. "So what's next?" She asked, looking back at where Elodie was seated, watching a Disney movie. I knew she was worried about her safety, all of ours. Which was why we had come to La Push in the first place.

"We'll get a couple houses lined up for you to take a look at, and get all the paperwork sorted." Billy said. "Do you have any school preference?"

"I think Athena would be fine going to school on the reservation, but there is a private school that I have an eye on for Elodie." She said.

Billy gave a nod before looking at me. "The reservation school holds grades k-12, and there is a daycare center near the school for your little one." He told me. They chatted with Davina for a few more minutes before taking their leave.

* * *

Around three days later, on the first of August, we went house hunting. There was only three houses to actually look at, that fit our need of four bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. A lot of houses around here weren't new at all, and in this area in general, not just La Push, but Forks too, houses were order and hardly any of them costed any more than 300,000. The first home that we looked at wasn't at all what we were wanting, the second home we couldn't get past the living room. Everything in that house was red, including the carpet and kitchen cabinets.

So we went and looked at the third house and we actually liked that. It had been recently renovated, with 4 beds and 3 bath. It was built in 1951, but you really couldn't tell, due to the renovations the previous owners did. The living room and kitchen floors were wood, bathroom floors were tile and the bedrooms and the rest of the house had new fresh carpet. The master bedroom was on the top floor and the other bedrooms and bathrooms were downstairs on one end of the house.

After looking through the house, Davina decided this would be the one that we would get, and she dropped us off at the tribal center so she didn't have to drive us back to the hotel and then come back to sign paperwork.

When she left, I got my sister settled at the table with her color wonder thing and gently held the almost sleep almost 3 month old in my arms. Billy came by and periodically checked in on us. After a few more moments, a young woman with one side of her face scarred came into the room. She gave a light smile upon seeing us. "Hello, my name is Emily, I'm engaged to Sam." She said.

I offered a small smile back in greeting. "I'm Athena and that's Elodie, but then again, you probably already knew that."

She smiled a bit. "Yeah, I knew, just about everyone around here does." She said. "Being a small town and all."

"I know how that goes." Being from not one, but two small towns, I knew how it was. I was born and raised in Cherokee North Carolina, but when my mom died when I was 9, I moved to Manteo, located on the outer banks of North Carolina to live with Davina and my dad.

"Where did you come from before you moved here?"

"Manteo, North Carolina, it's part of Roanoke Island." I told her. "But I'm originally from Cherokee in the mountains."

"Your mom's Cherokee?"

"Hm-hm." I nodded. "She was."

"I'm sorry, may I ask what happened?"

"She passed from Breast cancer when I was 9. Then I was sent to live with Davina and my father." I told her, then I shook my head, "But of course, he left when she was two." Then I realized what I said and gave a sheepish look. "Sorry, it's hard not to be bitter when it comes to that man."

Emily gave a reassuring smile as she shook her head. "No, you're fine." She said. "Believe me, Sam doesn't like the man either. He left him and his mother when he was really small."

I nodded. "Sounds like he has a habit of leaving. The moment he found out my mom was pregnant with me, he left. When he left when Elodie was little, he signed away parental rights."

She nodded, but didn't say anything else. "And whose this little cutie?" She looked at the now sleeping baby.

I smiled. "This is Scarlett." I had allow Davina to let the council know about the situation with Scarlett, of why there was no father in her life. She didn't have one, she never had one. I simply refer to that man (whom I heard killed himself in prison) as her donor, nothing more and nothing less. "I take it you know that story?"

She nodded. "Good. I don't like getting into it."

Emily nodded again. "How old is she?"

"She will be three months in a couple weeks. She was born on the 12th of May."

Davina was finished after about an hour and then soon came to pick us up.


	6. Chapter 6

We got the keys to the house on 3rd of August, just a couple days after Davina signed all the paperwork. So, the 3rd was also the closing on the house. The sellers were moving out of state and they just wanted to get everything over with and submit all the paperwork and they had already moved out. In the case with our old house in Manteo, Davina listed the help of her friends to clear out the house and sell off what could be sold, and they sent her that money, which was about a week after we left, when Davina made the decision to come here. That had been a month ago. Hell. The house already sold as well. They put the house on the market on July 16th, and it sold on the 31st, just a little over 3 weeks.

That being, the neighborhood is one that people are after in buying a house in, that was a desirable neighborhood and houses go for quite a bit in there. Or in any neighborhood on Roanoke Island that is. It was now August 7th a Tuesday. The closing day, we put fresh paint on the walls, and painted our bedrooms the color we wanted. Davina had ordered ordered furniture at the first of August, however, wouldn't arrive until today, since we ordered from a company that didn't deliver, but they shipped to all states via UPS.

Although we moved in on Saturday, we had to sleep on air mattresses for the time being. The only pieces of furniture we had was a white chest of drawers with an elephant, and a white pbteen teen desk in my room, and another white chest of drawers with a tree and owls for Scarlett that I had found at a thrift store. I got up nearly off the floor, as the air mattress had deflated a bit through the night, I dug through some of the bags I had set off to the side of the room and quickly got dressed. I changed Scarlett's diaper, but I didn't change her clothes since we weren't going anywhere today.

We had only gotten a few groceries to last us until Thursday, where we would go up to Seattle to do a big shopping trip and get groceries and school supplies and such. We will save on hotel rooms by staying with Davina's parents. Davina made frozen waffles via oven (as the major appliances arrived yesterday). Emily graciously fed us over the weekend.

She and Sam were coming over today to kind of help us out. The UPS would help unload it, but that was about it. So, that's when Sam and Emily volunteered to help us out with that. And Sam had a friend of his, Jared (whom I had met along with his girlfriend the other day)

Sam and Emily and Jared arrived not long after we finished up eating, Davina got the door. "Sam, Emily." She greeted, before letting them in. Emily was also going with us on the trip to Seattle.

"Davina." Emily greeted warmly. "Athena. Elodie." Whom was still sitting at the breakfast bar, which was near the front door.

"Hey." I greeted back to both of them.

"I'm sure you remember Jared." Emily said, as Davina nodded and greeted him.

"I brought you your school schedule, supply list, and information." Sam said, handing me some papers. "Also the information you wanted about the local daycare."

"Okay." I nodded. "Thank you."

"Oh, UPS is here." Davina said, looking out the window, before opening the door to go out to greet them. While she did that, I went and put Kanook in his kennel in the back room, and also found the cats and put them in each of their kennels, so none of the animals could get out the house and escape. Thankfully the backyard had a fence for Kanook.

My sister and I stood by as Sam and Jared brought some boxes in, and Davina determined which room that each piece went in by looking at the boxes. Her room was at one end of the house, and the other three bedrooms on the other side. After around 45 minutes, they brought everything in, into the rooms they were belonged in, and Davina started cutting the boxes. First was the living room set, which was a 8 piece set, and it included a love seat, sofa, chair, 2 side tables with 2 lamps and a coffee table.

As they were doing that, I got the lamps and cushions out of the boxes and got those set up once the furniture was positioned. Next they got Davina's room set up and then Elodie's. Davina had ordered Elodie a 7 piece daybed set, which a nightstand, dresser and mirror came with it, and her daybed had a bookshelf type thing built into it.

My set on the other hand, I had chosen from my options, a full sized gray 5 pieced set with a nightstand, dresser and mirror. And the nursery was the last one. Just directly next to my room (and my sister's room was across the hall from mine). I had found a Ivory set, which included a crib and dresser with a built in changing table which could be removed for her to use it later.

We were finished setting the whole house up about 5 that evening. After ordering a pizza, we ate and went to bed. The next day was spent sleeping in, and moving clothes to dressers.

And later that night, we packed up for our trip to Seattle (and packed more for Elodie, since she was going to D.C.) since we were leaving about 6 that morning, since it took about 4 hours to get to Seattle, and we were going to the zoo tomorrow.

I woke up around 4:30 the next morning and took a quick shower (my bedroom had it's own bathroom) and changed into a pair of beige shorts and a gray tank top with a elephant on it. I dug around my dresser for a pair of socks and tied my shoes before French braiding my hair.

I picked up my duffel bag and my pillow and throw blanket before heading outside where Davina had pulled the truck out of the detached garage and put my bag, the pack n'play and the stroller in the back and put my pillows and blanket in the back seat next to Scarlett's car seat base, which was in the middle seat. I then went back into the house and into Scarlett's room and lifted her out of her crib and changed her diaper and changed her into a pair of purple pants and purple and green Nala short sleeved onesie. I put a headband on her head and put her in her car seat and buckled the straps and covered her with a gray heart plush blanket. I picked up her car seat, grabbed the diaper bag and carrier, and walked out of the house, where Davina and Elodie were just getting out.

A couple minutes later, Sam dropped Emily off as I was securing Scarlett in the car. "Hey." I greeted her stepping back out.

"Alright ladies, ready to head on?"

"Yeah." I said as Emily nodded.

"Then let's get this show on the road."

I got back in the truck, the back seat behind Davina, and Elodie got in the back behind the passengers seat. Since it was still a bit early, I found myself dozing off before we reached Port Angeles, however, I woke up before we reached Sequim. "How does Ihop for breakfast sound?" Davina asked.

"Sounds good." Emily said.

"Yeah, here too." I stifled a yawn.

Davina pulled in at Ihop around 20 minutes later. I opened the truck door and stretched a bit as Davina went around and woke Elodie up. I took Scarlett's car seat out of the base and grabbed the Vera Bradley diaper bag that was doubling as my purse and followed Emily into the restaurant.

"4." She said to the hostess, who nodded and led us to a table.


	7. Chapter 7

The hostess led us to our table and brought me a car seat holder/stand to put Scarlett's car seat on. I put her down and sat down in my own seat. I pulled her closer, and had her facing me. Davina, Emily and Elodie all sat down.

"Can I start you all off with something to drink?" Our waitress asked us, after introducing herself.

"Um, cold brewed iced coffee please." I requested.

"I'll take the same thing." Emily said.

"And I want the lemonade iced tea, and give her the apple juice." Davina ordered, setting down the menu.

"I'll be right back with your drinks." The waitress said.

"Any idea what you're getting?" Davina asked me.

"Probably the 2x2x2." I told her, looking through the menu. "You?"

"I don't know. Probably the smokehouse combo." It was then that Scarlett decided to start fussing.

"Can you order me the 2x2x2? Bacon, eggs and banana pancakes." I asked. "I'm going to go and change her."

Davina nodded. "Of course." I put the diaper bag on my shoulder and unbuckled Scarlett from her car seat and gently lifted her out and cradled her, before heading to the bathroom. Once there, I located the changing table and placed the changing pad on it and then gently laid Scarlett down on it. I quickly changed her diaper and went ahead and changed her clothes too. I rummaged through the diaper bag to see what I had put in there. I found a white onesie in purple glitter 'Mermaid in Training' and a green, blue and purple fish scale printed legging and a matching bow. I changed her into that before putting her light pink fringe sandals back on her feet and picked her back up and went back to the table.

I buckled her into her car seat and covered her with her blanket. "Food should be here soon." Davina said as I sat down. She stood to take Elodie to the restroom.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Emily asked.

I took a sip of my drink. "I believe that after we leave here, we're stopping at a couple places in Tukwila and then go by Davina's parents to drop our stuff and go to the zoo." I told her. "At least that's what Davina said."

Emily nodded. "Sounds good." She said, looking up as the waitress brought out the food.

"Who had the 2x2x2?" I raised my hand and she set it down in front of me. She placed the Silver 5 meal where my sister had been sitting and placed Davina's next to that, and gave Emily her strawberry banana pancakes. By this time, Davina and Elodie returned and sat down.

"Looks good." Davina said, before taking a bite of her food. She looked at Elodie. "Looking forward to the zoo later today?"

"Uh-huh." Elodie nodded eagerly. "I can't wait to see the lions. And I'm sure sissy wants to see the elephants."

I nodded, starting to eat my own food. Elephants was my favorite wild animal ever since I was a small child for some reason. The had been my mom's too, maybe that's where I got it from, and when she died, that just enhanced.

About half an hour later, we all finished eating and took restroom breaks and got to go cups with refills before piling back into the truck. Our next stop would be Tukwila, which was about two hours from here. I plugged my earphones in and leaned my head against the glass and eventually fell asleep and woke up once we arrived. We stopped at our first stop, Party City. Since weren't going to be in there long, I just decided to carry Scarlett. I unbuckled her from her car seat and got her wrapped in her blanket and carried her into the store behind Davina.

She grabbed a buggy and we walked around the store until we could find the aisle that had the 'My Little Pony' items, which was my sister's theme of choice. We got the invitations, thank you cards, disposable silverware in different colors of the rainbow, plates, napkins, balloons, the whole nine yards.

Our next stop was Kohls. I wore the baby carrier in there to make it easier. I only got a few camis and other under shirts here, plus a couple tops that I liked, but that was about it. Davina wanted to come here because she saw a pair of shoes online that she needed for work. After we left, Davina took our bags back to the truck and told us that she would meet us in Michael's. Once in the store, I got a buggy and waited for Davina, who came in and got her own.

She told me that I could go and get my own stuff and that she would find me later, before she and Elodie went their own way. Emily elected to follow me, and on one aisle, I found stuff for my bible journaling, such as a bible journaling planner kit by American Crafts, booklet set, some stickers, washi tape, pens and highlighters.

On another aisle, Emily found herself a scrapbooking kit and I found one on sale that I got as well as a kit to put some of Scarlett's pictures in. And I also threw on additional stickers into the cart. We walked away from there and moved onto the next one, where I finally found the aisle that I was wanting to get to the most, the Create 365 section. I've been using Create 365 for a few years now.

I picked out a boho full sized planner to keep in my backpack and a small 'mom life' planner to keep in my pocketbook regarding Scarlett's stuff. I also found accessories such as sticky notes, washi tape, and sticker books. They also had the pen case that I wanted, as well as a storage case to keep everything in, so I put both of those in the cart. I had almost a cartful of items here,

Davina had found her own planner kit, as did Emily, which I think I sucked her into the art of Create 365, a scrapbook kit, unicorn sticker book, and a heart journal kit for Elodie. We then checked out and headed back to the truck to head to Davina's parent's house, and we got there by noon.

"Okay, we're here." Davina said, as well pulled into her parent's 4 bed and 3 ½ bath home. Her mother, Helen, came out when we pulled up.

"Hello dear." Helen went to greet Davina when she got out of the truck.

"Mom." She greeted

"Grandma!" Elodie squealed as she got out of the truck.

Helen chuckled and hugged her as I got out. "Hello Athena." She greeted me with a hug.

"Helen" I smiled as I hugged her back.

"And mom, this is Emily, the girl's brother's fiancée."

Helen smiled. "Nice to meet you Emily."

"You too." Emily smiled. "Thanks for having me."

"Of course." Helen nodded. "Come on. Get your stuff and I'll show you where you've been staying." She said. "I hope you and Athena don't mind bunking?"

Emily and I both shook our heads. "Of course not." I said as I got Scarlett's car seat out of the truck and grabbed my duffel bag. I remembered which room she was talking about, if I remembered correctly from last time.

"Alright Elodie, you remember where your room is. Davina, you too." She said. "And I left a little something on everyone's bed." She turned to me and Emily. "You two will be sharing a bathroom with Elodie as it's a Jack and Jill."

She led us to our room and I could see what she meant by a little something for each of us. On my bed there was a teal and gray raglan tee with my initials in dark glitter turquoise. Beside that was a pair of black legging with gold dots, a matching headband and a white onesie, with Scarlett's name in black glitter with a gold 'S' behind that. And Emily had a grey tee shirt with her name in black glitter.

I set up the pack n' play to get that ready before we left for the zoo. Davina stuck her head in the room then. "You girls ready to go?" She asked.

"Yes." Emily said as I nodded and picked up Scarlett's car seat and followed Emily out of the room.

"We're going to follow my parents to the zoo, as I don't have enough room in the truck." Davina said as she ushered Elodie out the door behind Thomas.

Around 20 minutes later, we finally reached the zoo and I got out and went around to the back of the truck and pulled the stroller out. I pushed it to the side of the truck before reaching in and getting Scarlett's car seat out to secure it on the stroller.

I pushed her, following alongside the others to the entrance of the zoo, where Helen showed our tickets and then passed through, where each of us were handed a map. I reviewed it to see what was closest to us. "Where did we park?" Davina asked.

"South parking lot." I said, looking at the map. "We could go right and look at the African Village World first?" I suggested.

Helen and Thomas nodded. "Sounds good to me." He said, leading the way. We saw the zebras and gazelles first, before following the path to see the monkeys, giraffes and lions.

"Lions!" Elodie squealed upon seeing them. There was a statue of a lion out in the front that Davina took Elodie's picture with.

"Alright Athena, get over there with your sister." She said, and I did so, crouching down on the other side. She got our picture and then requested to get one with Emily in it too.

Pictures were finished a couple minutes later, and Elodie had to sit and watch the lions for about 15 minutes before we moved on to see the warthog. Then we moved onto the next section. "Look sissy!" Elodie pointed. "Elephants! Your favorite!" She said, as we came across them.

Davina had to get a picture of me with them, and then with me holding Scarlett and then added Elodie for another. Once we left there, we went through the other habitats. "What is that?" My sister pointed to something in the Australian section.

"Uhm." I looked over at what she was looking at. "That is a wallaby." I told her, taking a sip from my water bottle.

"There's the wolves." Thomas pointed out, walking ahead to the next one.

"And the elk on the other side." Emily noted, watching the wolves for a moment. We went and saw the sea eagle, arctic fox, river otter and brown bears before we decided to take a bathroom break. I went into the stall that had a changing table and set the car seat on the floor for a minute while I used the bathroom and then put the changing table down and changed Scarlett.

After the bathroom break, we decided to rest and Elodie wanted to ride the carousel, and I took Scarlett on, sitting down in the carriage seat. After taking a 15-minute break, we went to see the penguins and the snakes. We eventually found our way to the gorillas, that my sister called 'King Kong'. We soon neared the end, ending with the bugs, as we decided to skip the petting zoo.

We decided to go to the zoo store to finish off our trip. I browsed around the store, and chose a cute plush elephant for myself. "Hey, Athena!" Davina got my attention. I looked up to see her holding up a wooden keychain with a lion on it. "I actually found your name."

"Really?" I asked as she handed it to me. "That's cool. Usually you can't find my name anywhere." I looked over at my sister who had chosen a long snake and a small stuffed lion.

"Let's go find you a book El." Davina told her, leading her to the books. I went back to browsing. I eventually went over to the clothing, where I found a baby pajama set for Scarlett that was about saving the rhinos.

A few minutes later, Elodie rejoined me. "Did you find a book?" I asked her.

"Huh-huh." She nodded, holding one up. It was about land mammals of the world.

"Nice."

"Is everyone finished?" Helen asked.

We nodded. "Okay. Thomas and I are getting everyone's stuff, and no protesting." She said, before any one of us could think about arguing with her. By the time we left the zoo, it was nearing 7 p.m.

"Hoe does everyone feel about Red Robins for supper?" Thomas asked.

"Sounds good." Davina said. "We'll follow you over there."

We spent maybe two hours there, as we elected to have desert too. And a note? The double berry cheesecake is to die for. It was after nine when we finally arrived back at the Holden's place. When we got back, my sister got her bath and while she was doing that, I bathed Scarlett in the sink. After my sister got her bath, I got my shower. I walked back into the bedroom when I was finished.

"I'm going to go get my shower." Emily said, handing Scarlett back to me. "You can turn the lamp off if you want." I nodded as I placed Scarlett into the pack n' play near my bed before crawling into my bed, falling asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Davina woke us at 8, as we needed to leave by 9. "Mom's making breakfast, but y'all have an hour to get ready." She told us.

I nodded, getting up and rummaged through my suitcase. I settled on a pair of turquoise shorts and a teal and grey PINK tank top. I went into the bathroom and quickly changed before coming back out. I pulled on my coral flower sandals, and brushed out my hair, and left it down. I kept my makeup light and went to breakfast, leaving Scarlett asleep.

After breakfast, I went back to the bedroom to change Scarlett and then changed her outfit, into a white long-sleeved onesie that had 'Nana. Mama. Auntie. Me. #SquadGoals on it with jean pants and a matching pow. I found a pair of socks and out those on her feet and then put the leopard print Sperry shoes on her.

I buckled her in her car seat and then carried her to the truck when it was time to leave. Emily sat in the back on the other side of Scarlett while Elodie sat in the middle in the front next to Davina and Helen. "Where did you want to go first?" Helen asked.

"Northgate Mall." Davina said. "Have to go to AT&T for upgrades and we have appointments at the JcPenny Salon."

Helen nodded. "Okay." We arrived just a few minutes later and parked in front of Barnes and Noble. We got out and I secured Scarlett in her stroller. We walked in the mall and followed Davina into the AT&T store. We spent around an hour in here because Davina got both of our phones upgraded, so we both got new phones and our numbers got changed. I had to switch over phone numbers and data to my new phone and texted my contacts to explain the number change. She had our numbers changed as a precaution. So once we did all that, and get phone cases and screen protectors, I placed my new phone in the diaper bag and we left the store.

Our next store was Payless shoes. I only found a couple pairs of boots on sale for myself. However, I did find Scarlett a couple pair of sandals and some booties here. I then checked out and waited for Davina, who was getting a pair of boots for Elodie.

Davina placed her bag on the mall stroller than Helen had rented just for this purpose. Leaving the shoe store, we made our way down to The Children's Place so Davina could get my sister's uniforms for school. I did find a few things for Scarlett though, like a couple sleepers and a bunting. After I made my purchases, I went to sit outside the door in the middle of the mall with Emily and Helen.

After a couple minutes, Emily excused herself to go to the Lane Bryant store. Davina was finished in The Children's Place around 20 minutes later and she and Helen wanted to go to Macy's, so I would them that I would meet them later, as I wanted to go to Bath and Body Works, and Elodie asked to come with me.

Emily met back up with me just before we entered the store. "Where's Davina and Helen?" She asked.

"Macy's. We're supposed to meet them at the food court when we leave here."

They finally had some of my favorite falls scents, and they had fragrance refills on sale, so I picked up 6 of them as well as a Wallflower plug. Some of the candles were on sale, which I got those and a spiced pumpkin cider butter and then headed to checkout. Emily had gotten much more than I did, and I was waiting on her after I checked out. Once she was finished, we made our way to the food court in front of Baskin Robbins where we were to meet Davina and Helen, whom were there waiting.

"What do you want?" Davina asked. "We still have time before our appointment."

"Um." I looked up at the menu. "Cotton candy in a cup."

"I want the same as sissy, but in a cone." My sister requested.

Davina nodded and looked over at Emily. "Blackberry hibiscus." She said. "Cup."

Davina gave a nod and went to order while Emily and I went to find a table. Our appointment was 30 minutes later. Davina told me and Elodie to go ahead first and get our hair done, since hers would take longer as she was getting a color. It didn't take but 15 minutes for my trim and Davina told me I could go ahead out into the store to look around for my school clothes.

Helen was going to wait on Elodie, so Emily came with me. We first went to the shoes where there was a sale, in which I found two Arizona branded sandals, basically getting two for less than the price of one. I also found a pair of teal and white Puma running shoes. Then moved onto the next section to get some underwear that they usually had on sale.

I followed Emily to the junior's section of the store where I got my jeans and some shorts. I tried them on to make sure that they fit. I didn't find too many shirts here, maybe around 7 including a few graphic tees. I finished the shopping trip with finding some pajamas.

We spent a total of two hours in the store because Davina had to get a bunch of stuff for Elodie here as well. Mostly clothing for her uniform that she couldn't find in the other store, as well as three different shoes that she would be able to wear with her uniform, plus a pair of boots that would stick within the dress code. And a couple pairs of tennis shoes. This kid has more shoes than I do. She took my items and her cart, before going to check out.

Our next stop was to Auntie Anne's pretzels to get something to drink, and the piercing/tattoo place so we could get Scarlett's ears pierced. She's the same age I was when my mom had got mine done. I picked a pair of earrings that had her birthstone and got them done. She didn't even cry. They gave me instructions for the aftercare, which I reviewed and stuck in the diaper bag, and we were on our way.

"What's next?" I asked.

"Victoria's Secret." Davina said. "I can meet you in Barnes and noble."

I gave a nod before heading that way. I browsed around the store and picked up a few books that I had been meaning to pick up to read. I had a gift card, not to mention that my aunt had took care of my membership card. I also picked up a couple books to read to Scarlett and helped Elodie pick out a few books for herself. We checked out and by that time, Davina was finished. "Okay, whose ready for lunch?" She asked.

Elodie raised her hand. "I'm about to starve." She complained dramatically.

Davina chuckled. "Alright. Let's get these bags back to the truck. Stanford's within walking distance." We walked back to the truck and put the bags in and I also put the stroller up, electing on carrying the car seat to the restaurant. Our hostess led us to a table, and I placed the car seat in an empty seat beside me. We took a few minutes to look over the menu and by the time the waitress came to get our drinks, we pretty much knew what we wanted.

"May I take your drink order?"

Helen nodded. "Yes." She said. "But I think we all also know what we want."

"Okay." She said. "Sure."

"For our appetizer, we would like to get the walnut crusted brie. And I would like the blackened ahi salad and a red diamond merlot."

The waitress nodded and looked to Davina after writing that down. "And I would like the southwest chicken chopped salad and a coke to drink, and she would like the kid's cheese French bread with seasonal fruit and mashed potatoes and an apple juice." She then looked to me.

"Um, the pepper bacon mac n' cheese with cinnamon apples and a strawberry lemonade."

"I also want a strawberry lemonade and a smoked chicken linguini with a house salad." Emily ordered after I did.

An hour later, our next mall was the Westfield South Center to go to the stores that the other mall did not have. "Alright, let's go to build-a-bear." Helen suggested, as the store wasn't too far off from the entrance that we went through. We went into the store and my sister chose a bunny promise pet, and my sister 'demanded' that I pick something, so I just chose a rainbow color crazed lion.

After leaving the store, we headed to my sister's favorite store, Justice. "Look sissy!" Elodie got my attention and pointed to something. "They have laced camis that you like."

"And they're cheap too." Davina said, looking at the stand. And you can wear their large size." I nodded as I browsed around there. I nodded and ended up getting a few of those. Davina ended up getting Elodie some pajamas, socks, school stuff and a few tops and jeans.

Once we left there, Davina, Helena and Elodie was leaving to see a movie at the AMC movies, and there was nothing playing that either Emily or I wanted to see, so we were just gonna shop around a bit. "Wanna go to Fruititude?" I asked her. "It's on level three."

"Sure." She nodded. "Sounds good." We headed for the elevator, due to the stroller, and made our way to Fruititude.

Once there I ordered an avocado smoothie and a coconut acai bowl and paid before Emily ordered, she had decided on the chocolate acai bowl and a Thai tea slush. I told her to put her drink in the extra cup holder on the stroller as we walked and ate. We went back down on the elevator to PINK. I threw my empty bowl in the trashcan beside the store and walked in. I found a couple of sports bras, a shirt, three hoodies and some body stuff. I checked out and waited for Emily. The next store that we decided to go to was the Disney store.

I found myself only one book here, but a few things for Scarlett, some onesies, a book and a little Minnie mouse. I also got a couple things for my sister for her birthday. We also went to the Lego store, where I picked up a little something for her birthday and got a card from Hallmark.

Our next and last place, was the Westwood Village. I didn't bother with the stroller this time and simply wore Scarlett in the carrier and walked to Sally's Beauty Supply. Davina got a cart, and I picked up a few things, mostly hair products for my hair type and other brands that I frequently used. Since I purchased a certain amount, I got a few boho tote, and used that to put my purchases in.

We walked to Ulta Beauty from there and got quite a few items, including makeup products. Since I bought an Ulta Beauty item of a certain price, I was able to receive a free 12 pc gift. After checkout, I waited on Davina whom was behind me.

We walked over to Marshalls so Davina could look around and get some things that she may need for work. The only thing that I really liked about this place was some of the linen spray and office supplies. I picked up a couple journals and placed them in Davina's cart and walked along behind her.

Once we were finished, or rather once Davina had found everything she wanted, Helen needed to go to Target, so that was our next stop. She had to get a few groceries, and some things to take on the trip with Elodie and for the days that they had her for this coming week. They had a Starbucks here, and I decided to get my supper from here as I wasn't that hungry. I got a violet drink and an egg and cheese protein box and got my sister a steamed apple juice and a PB&J box. Then we went back to the Holden's place, done for the day.


	9. Chapter 9

We awoke at 7:30 that next morning to load the truck back up and got ready to leave. We left Elodie sleeping, since was staying behind. I knew that they were leaving on Tuesday (it was Sunday) and come back Saturday, and then on Monday, we were to meet them halfway in Port Angeles.

This time I put Scarlett's car seat behind the passenger's seat and got her settled before we said our goodbyes. After that, I went got in my seat behind Davina and buckled up. We drove 30 minutes to Auburn to the outlet collection and parked in Court D.

I just decided to babywear today. I placed her in the carrier and secured her facing me. We first decided to go to Cinnabun for breakfast. "Athena, what do you want?" Davina asked.

"A cinnamon roll hot chocolate and a center of the roll."

"Emily?"

"Cinnamon roll cold brewed iced coffee and a caramel PecanBon please." She requested.

We took 20 minutes to eat and then hit our first store, the Old Navy outlet. I honestly didn't find much here, just a couple pairs of jeans, tank tops to be used as undershirts and a onesie and some booties for Scarlett. Davina herself got some clothes and a few tops for Elodie. We checked out and walked around the mall until we found another store that we wanted to go to and came across the Burlington Coat Factory.

Most of the stuff that I put into my cart were for Scarlett, like a blanket, some bottles and pacifiers and bibs mostly. For myself, a couple shirts, some soap and bath bombs, and a few dresses. And I couldn't forget my spoiled rotten husky. Kanook got a new bed and a few toys as well. Once we finished, we went and took the bags to the car and walked back in.

Davina handed Emily the keys. "Here's the keys for when you're finished to put your bags up." She said. "We won't be too far." I knew that she wanted to go to the Levi outlet store. She headed that way and Davina and I went to look around carter's. I found a few things for her, and since it could all fit in one bag, I would just carry it. I still had a gift card from Aeropostale, from Christmas, in fact, I had several of them from different places that I hadn't used. I got a majority of my clothes from here. Emily caught up with us once we were finished. Davina then wanted to go to the Coach outlet to find her a new pocketbook, so that's where we went next. After a few minutes of walking around while Davina looked around, I told her that I was going to go to the Vera Bradley to use my gift card and get my backpack for this coming school year.

I ended up finding a backpack and a lunch box in the pattern that the diaper bag was in, falling leaves. I also picked up a tote, some hair ties and a blanket in the Santiago print. The last print I chose, the modern medley, I ended up getting a wallet and crossbody bag. I liked it because it donated proceeds to the Breast Cancer Research, which was especially important to me, since my mom lost her battle to breast cancer.

After I was finished, we put our bags in the truck and took thirty minutes for lunch at Dairy Queen. After eating, we tackled what would probably be our biggest Walmart shopping trip ever. Not to mention Sam's Club. But then again, we had left most of our stuff behind in Manteo. So, we did have a lot that we had to replace, especially all of our appliances. Once in Walmart, we each got buggies, three in total. I was going to use mine as the smaller stuff, Emily's for bedding and home goods and Davina's for everything else.

We first started with what was closest to the door, which was the pharmacy and health and beauty section (after stopping in at the vision center to put in an order for my glasses). Davina liked to make sure that everyone had first aid kits on them, and she liked to make them too. So, that meant Band-Aids, gauze, tape, creams and the whole nine yards.

I got my necessities and headed to the hair care section. "What bands do you normally use?" Emily asked me.

"Usually Dove or OGX." I told her. "Their products for curly hair are pretty awesome." Most of the products I used for my hair with OGX, with a few exceptions. I picked up a few other things that I needed before looking over to Davina once we were done.

"Let's see." She murmured. "I can get the pet's food at Sam's, so let's head over to the home section." I had already gotten Kanook's food at a pet store, but I would get Ursula's food there too, but I went ahead and got her a bed and a few toys here.

We darted across the store to the home goods, where I got a couple gallon bucket totes and put them in my buggy, putting all of the toiletries and small stuff in the bucket before placing it in the buggy. The storage cart that I got, I slid under my buggy, and the box for another one, under the seat of the kids cart on that one. The closet storage box went under Emily's cart. Mine and my sister's closets were small, so we needed them to hold our clothes and stuff. I also got for Scarlett's room, a smaller one for her clothes. Davina also got Elodie some storage stuff for Elodie's room before moving onto the bedding. She got Elodie's bedding and I chose mine and waited as Davina tried to decide between two bedding sets for herself. When she decided on it, we headed over to the appliances.

"What color?" Davina asked, looking at the options. "Black?"

I shook my head. "No." I said as I rested my hands on Scarlett's feet. "What about red?" I smiled a bit.

Davina smiled. "Red it is." She picked up what we needed and put it in her cart before heading over to the pots and pans and the likes and picked them all out since we didn't have any of those stuff. It's not like we thought pots and pans and plates and silverware were important as we fled Manteo. "Let's head over to the garden center for a moment." She said, and Emily and I followed her. "I need to get a grill and outdoor furniture."

We spent a bit looking at grills and patio furniture and swings before getting them all picked out and set aside to get at checkout. We then headed to electronics to get TVs and DVD players and some movies. I also went ahead and got my iPad from here while Davina got her tablet and a learning tablet for Elodie, as well as finding her a leap reader and portable DVD player. They sent that to the garden center as well, as we did with our bikes. We had them at the beach but was forced to leave them behind as we left too.

"Baby stuff now?" Davina asked.

"Yeah." I nodded. I had to get nursery stuff, diapers, wipes and formula, so basically everything. I ended up finding a high chair, and a few other stuff.

"Don't forget the tub Athena." Davina reminded me.

"Right." I needed to get that, so I could stop washing her in the sink. I put that into the cart before looking over at some of the baby clothes.

"We're almost finished." Davina promised. "Just want to swing by the clothes and get the school supplies."

"Okay." I nodded as I followed her. Davina got herself some scrubs while I found myself some long-sleeved shirts and a backup backpack and a laptop bag. I also found an umbrella and rainboots as I was informed that it rained a lot down here. Davina got Elodie a few more long-sleeved shirts and some other stuff. Also, rainboots and an umbrella. We lastly picked up our school supplies to finish off our trip at Walmart.

It literally took us almost an hour to check out, and a couple of workers followed us with the big item stuff. We loaded up the trailer and then walked back into Sam's to get groceries and a few other stuff that we needed.

We started in the health and personal care stuff and then towards the office supplies to get some stuff for my ETSY business and a printer and new laptop, since mine was just about dead. Then we went onto get the cat food before getting the groceries and checked out before going to head home.

We dropped Emily off around 5 before heading home, reassuring her that we would be okay and get everything indoors ourselves. Once getting home, I let Kanook in from the backyard and then brought the pack n' play in and set it up to put Scarlett in while we brought all of the bags and stuff into the house. We brought all of the bags in and we sat them in the living room for the moment. By the time we got everything in, it was a little after 6.

We put all of the frozen and cold stuff up first ad placed all of the packaged food on the counter until we could get it sorted out and placed in the pantry. Then we sorted things out by person. How we did this was everyone had their own storage bucket and we just tossed the stuff in the bins and put everything in four separate piles while we waited on the Chinese food to be delivered. It was a lot of boxes and a lot of stuff to put together. I took one of the baby swings out of the box, a back and pink floral one, and got that one set up in the living room. I also put one of the activity gyms, a bird themed one, in the corner of the living room. The other ones would go in my room or in Scarlett's room.

It wasn't long before the doorbell rang. "I'll get that." Davina said. "It's just the food."

She went and got the food and I followed her to the kitchen to put my chicken lo mien in a bowl. We had got the living room set up and we turned it to the Andy Griffth show. After eating, we put the bins and boxes in the correct rooms. Davina had her first day of work tomorrow, so I offered to put everything together tomorrow while she was at work.

I lifted Scarlett out of her pack and play and carried her to my room and placed her in the pink elephant rocking sleeper beside my bed, before climbing into bed myself.


End file.
